


Bad Wolf Radio

by wearenotdoinggethelp



Series: Radioverse [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, F/M, M/M, The Doctor (Doctor Who) is a Dork, The Doctor (Doctor Who) is a Mess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26440651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wearenotdoinggethelp/pseuds/wearenotdoinggethelp
Summary: John Noble is a student at the prestigious Gallifrey University, and runs into Rose Tyler, a Fine Arts student, and embarrasses himself (Well, of course he does).
Relationships: Amy Pond/Rory Williams, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Jenny Flint/Madame Vastra, Martha Jones/Mickey Smith, Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, The Doctor & Amy Pond & Rory Williams, The Doctor & Jack Harkness, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan
Series: Radioverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039877
Kudos: 25





	1. 1

"JOHN!" John Noble is shaken awake by the shrill voice of his sister, Donna. "Come on, we're here!"

Ah. They were back at Uni then. Which meant Donna would be mad at him. They had come to an arrangement in which, as they both needed to be in Gallifrey, they would each drive halfway there from their house in Scotland. And if he was shaken awake, that meant he missed his driving responsibilities. 

"I'm awake! I'm awake, Donna!" He scrambled out of the car and threw the boot open. Maybe he could make up for it by carrying Donna's bag to her flat. 

"Oi, spaceman! You'd better be carrying my bag, yeah?" Donna stalked around the car, glaring at him in the way only her and their mum could.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." John sighed, and lugged the bags onto the pavement. What had she got in there? Who knew makeup, scarves and high heels weighed so much. At least that's what he guessed was in there. Who knew with girls, right? They were confusing, even for an Astrophysics student.

\---

Once he'd finally got Donna's bags into her little flat, he began the process of hauling his (much lighter) belongings to the dorm building. He hated the fact that he had to share a staircase with people, but the university mandated that the students live in Uni-owned housing. And for a second-year student like John, that meant the dorms. Oh, and sharing with some obnoxious first-years. 

"And... Block 4, Flat 2. Here we are." John fumbled in his pocket for his battered key card. He was clumsy, alright? Frankly, it was a miracle he hadn't lost it. Or maybe he had, and Donna, one of the secretarial staff had slipped him a new one. There were two meanings to his 'affectionate' nickname after all.

"Oi, watch it mate" He looked up and into the face of a blonde-haired girl, who he'd just walked into. Brill. Enter the John who is absolutely brilliant with girls. He stutters, finding the right words. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." He smiles awkwardly, grabbing his key card and mobile form the floor.

"It's fine. You new, kid?" She asks, obviously not noticing his key card, or the harrowed look in his eyes, which Donna assured him signified that he was a socially able second year. Which, now he thought about it, she had probably been joking about. Socially able? John?

"Oh, No. I'm a second year. Uhm, John- John Noble. Nice to meet you?" He squeaks, avoiding the scary student's eyes. She eyes him weirdly as he skirts around to his room. And now he'd blown it. "I'm Rose. Rose Tyler." He smiles and runs to the safety of his room.

"John. What's gotten you so worked up already, Spaceman?" Ah, Donna. Terse and to the point as always. "It was a girl, wasn't it?"  
How Donna knew this stuff was beyond him.  
"Yes, It was. Honestly, how you guess this stuff is beyond me, Earthgirl." John sighed, fiddling with a pencil.  
"You sound all cute and flustered, whenever you meet a girl you like, John. It's not exactly rocket science!" John could hear her snicker over the phone.  
"C'mon Donna, I don't do 'rocket science' I'm an astrophysicist." He moaned, laying down his notebook  
"Whatever. Same difference. Got to go. Oh, and by the way, you are volunteering at the fresher's fair." John could swear he could hear her smirk over the phone. Ugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the Doctor is Donna's brother, and he is also an Astrophysics student, bc that's the obvious choice. Donna works at the Uni as a secretary. Gallifrey University is based on a mix of American colleges, and Cambridge University, as well as a load of stuff from my imagination, bc this is AU and I can do what I like.


	2. 2

Rose sighed. The good news was she had met a student, possibly in her year and her flat. The bad news is that he was annoyingly handsome, but didn't seem to know it, and seemed incredibly posh, and would definitely never go for a council estate girl like her. She sighed, padded down the stairs, and headed to the cafeteria, checking for mail along the way, waving to Martha, her best friend and one of the medical students.  
"Rose! Rose!" Martha yelled, running over to her. "Which flat are you in?" She pants, catching her breath.  
"Uhm... Block 4 Flat 2. I've met someone there already, but he was a bit... odd." Rose tells Martha, walking alongside her. "His name was John. John Noble."  
Rose could see Martha visibly stop in her tracks.  
"Oh no." Martha moans, picking up her pace.  
"You know him?" Rose calls to Martha, running along the path.  
"Oh yeah. He's an Astrophysics student. He was in my Block last year, and didn't talk to anyone, and is really weird. His sister's cool though. She works in Admin." Martha stops outside the cafeteria as they walk in. "Good luck is all I can say."

\---

John ran into the cafeteria, trying to get to dinner in time. The Fresher's fair was hellish. He never actually went last year, and the freshers were bloody annoying. And now they were going to run out of the banana pie. He picked up a tray, grabbed a plate of chips, and... no banana pie. Damn. He sighed and grabbed a bowl of custard, hesitated, and darted back to get some fish fingers. Not perfect, but still one of his favourites, one that Donna teased him mercilessly for.

Scanning the crowded cafeteria, he spotted his friends, Jack and Clara, and immediately headed over to them. He had been friends with Jack Harkness for a couple of years, ever since the Art student was on exchange from his home country of the US, to their small village in Scotland. He had introduced him to Clara Oswald, an English student last year. The two shared an affinity for odd foods, albeit Clara's was baking soufflés, and then burning them, whereas John's was fish fingers and custard. Anyways...

He sat down at the table, and started eating, for once ignoring Jack's attempts at flirting with everyone in the vicinity, including him and Clara.  
"Johnny-boy! What's up!" He heard the enthusiastic American say, as John looked up from his plate. "Hi, Jack." He sighed and smiled weakly. Maybe he could ask Jack for relationship advice? Better not. The man was a ridiculous flirt, but keeping up anything with anyone but Ianto Jones? Not likely. On the other hand, Ianto had been Jack's boyfriend for all of Uni, so there had to have been a start to it, right?

"Girl problems?" Jack smirked at John, who groaned and smacked his head on the table. How Donna and Jack knew this was beyond him, maybe it was sort of magic? "A girl in your block... hmmm... I know! It was Rose Tyler, wasn't it?" He giggled as John smacked his head on the table repeatedly. "Look!" Jack whispered. "She's looking right at you, Johnny-boy!" he giggled again, and winked at Rose, who's friend pulled her arm and brought her over to the table. 

"Martha! How's my favourite **Doctor** doing?" Jack laughed and offered his hand to Rose. "Captain Jack Harkness by the way." he held his hand out to Rose, who giggled, and took it.  
"Stop it!" came John's voice.  
"I don't mind. Captain of what, then?" she asked, smiling and blushing. Jack tended to have that effect on people.  
" I'm joining the RAF when I'm done here. It's really just a nickname though." He smiled. "This lovely young lady is Clara Oswald, and this... is John Noble" Clara smiled at Rose and Martha.  
John looked up for a second. "Hi. Nice to meet you, Rose, well without running into you at least, which I suspect is a good thing. Am I rambling, Jack?" He grinned awkwardly and turned to his friend.  
"Yes, yes you are." Jack sighed, as he heard an odd noise. A kind of 'dun dun. dun dun dwoo dwee' " John, is that your phone." Clara asked, snorting as she did every time his phone rang. "Oh, yep. Must be Donna. I have to take this, sorry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't noticed, I've made the Doctor Scottish, as I'm envisioning him as the Tenth Doctor, and as David Tennant is Scottish, I decided to do the same to the Doctor. The Noble family is also quite wealthy in this fic, hence John looking and seeming quite posh. His ringtone is also the DW theme tune, I tried to type it as well as I could, but it's hard to write music in text!


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys have any ideas about what to do next, comments are very valued! This fic is inspired by a Gallifrey University tee I'm hoping for my birthday!

It was the first day of class. After a long week of trying to avoid Rose (godammit, Jack), John could finally get to class and immerse himself into the moons of Poosh. Rose was an Arts student, so she wouldn't be anywhere near the astrophysics department. The Arts Centre was right on the other side of town, so they wouldn't even bump into each other. But what John hadn't anticipated, was the fact that Rose would be in the kitchen at the same time as him. Normally, he would just grab a banana and go, but Donna and Grandad Wilf had made him promise to have proper breakfasts this year. Thanks, guys.

John ran downstairs to the kitchen, tripping over the stairs as he did, spilling a pile of books, and sweeping them into a tote bag. Walking into the kitchen, he stopped still. Rassilon. Rose was in the kitchen. John cautiously walked in, managing to get the bottle of milk out of the cupboard without looking at her.

It's John, right?" She asked, causing him to startle, turn around, and spill his milk.  
"Uh, yeah. John Noble. You're Rose, right?" He asked, grabbing a tea towel. He was going to be late. "Yeah. Rose Tyler. What department are you going to?" She asked, scraping her chair against the laminate floor.  
"Astrophysics. You're doing art, right?" He asked, trying not to blush at how much he was attracted to Rose.

\---

After an unusually long-feeling lecture on black holes, John was riding his pride and joy, his bike. Maybe bike was the wrong word. He had purchased in second-hand from Mickey Smith, Martha Jones' boyfriend, last year, and had altered it in his free time, so it now had built-in lights, compass, solar-powered phone charger, and a motor that he liked to call his warp drive. He liked Star Trek, okay? It was his TARDIS. Turbo And Re-usable Driving In Style. He wasn't the best at acronyms, admittedly, but the word the acronym made sounded great, so that's what mattered. He cycled through the park in the middle of campus, swerving to avoid Vastra and Jenny snogging by the pavilion. Honestly, there were so many couples on this campus, it was ridiculous. 

Turning into his student accommodation area, Mount Cadon drive, John hopped off his bike, fumbling with his bike lock until his cold fingers got his combo right, rushing to see Rose. Wait. He was rushing to see Rose? He dismissed that last thought, bounding up the steps to his flat. Jack had invited him to a party him and his flatmates (Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato and Owen Harper) were throwing, hinting that Rose would be going. Not that he was going just to see Rose. He was going, because another one of his promises he had made to Grandad and Donna was to be more sociable. Actually, maybe both. To see Rose as well. After the awkward disaster that morning, John was determined to ask her out. She'd probably say no. She was waaay out of his league. But maybe, just maybe, she might say yes. Or they could go to the cinema as... friends. Not that they really were friends at all though. But the principle was good. In practicality... John had no idea how he was going to ask her out.

Pulling his keycard out of his pocket, he collapsed into his room and onto his bed.


	4. 4

Later in the day, John was standing in front of his small dorm wardrobe, deciding what to wear for the party. As his Mother's golden boy, he had attended a lot of formal dinners before he even got to Gallifrey, but he doubted a 3-piece suit was going to be appropriate for a student party. What in the name of Rassilon was he going to wear? Coming up with a plan, he picked his phone up from the floor and texted Donna.

John: Donna? EMERGENCY!!!  
Donna: What's it this time, spaceman? Did you melt your access card again?  
John: No! I have a party! I need help!!!  
Donna: John, you serious? a party?  
John: Jack invited me, and Rose is going to be there...  
Donna: Ooh, is Rose your little crush?  
John: Yes. I mean no. I mean, Donna, just help!!!

John sighed. Donna was going to be no help whatsoever. He grabbed a pair of suit pants and tossed them aside. What was he supposed to wear? Jeans? He owned none. Sweatpants? Ditto. He groaned on his bed, contemplated calling Jack, dismissed the thought, and pulled on a pair of black trousers and a crumpled black shirt. This would have to do.  
He made it to the party easily enough, having skirted pre-drinks in the flat kitchen, and was loitering outside the door, waiting for his courage to come. "C'mon John" his muttered to himself and thrust open the door.  
***  
The party was loud and busy, two of the things John wasn't so keen on. He weaved his way through the crowds, ending up next to a table with a bowl of punch, and a selection of crisps. He took one look at the punch and shivered. He wasn't going to have any alcohol, let alone that monstrosity. He took a handful of those funny salt and vinegar twirls that look like pasta and stuffed them into his mouth. Damn, those are good. He stood there for a moment and glanced around for Rose, only to see that Donna was walking up to her. How was Donna even here? Over time, John had learnt that his sister was capable of some odd things. Not that he minded. She proved herself to be quite adept at martial arts, whilst beating John's ex, Jeanne Poisson up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, the author here! I've started a tumblr for you guys to check out, just as a place where people can ask me stuff, and I can put art and things on there.  
> Also, my b-day was today. (29.09) and yeah. I got some Doctor Who stuff, including the Gallifrey t-shirt.


	5. 5

"John!" John heard the unmistakable American drawl of Jack Harkness as the aforementioned strode over, clapping him on the back.  
"Jack. Fancy seeing you here!" John smiled, as Jack let out a hearty laugh.  
"It's my flat, Dumbass. 'Course I'm here. And It's Ianto's birthday" Ianto was Jack's boyfriend, a quiet but confident Welshman doing Economics at Gallifrey, sharing some maths lectures with John.  
"Well, sorry I haven't bought a gift, but happy birthday to him all the same." Jack grinned and bounced away. No matter whether it was his boyfriend's birthday or not, the man was a chronic flirt. Now, how was he, John, going to talk to Rose?

Jut as he was thinking this, however, Donna was walking over to him, chatting to a certain blond-haired girl. Great, Great, great. Oh for the love of-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time... John might manage to form a coherent sentence!
> 
> Hopefully, the next update will be a little more timely. Comment with anything you want to see, or if you enjoy.  
> Come and check out my very sparse Tumblr, I am gethelpfics. Message me if there are any ideas you want to see. I don't write reader-inserts but can do au's or other for the MCU, Doctor Who and Sherlock.


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John makes a coherent sentence.

Not that many people did Astrophysics at Gallifrey. It was a hard program to get into, and Gallifrey also had a large arts program, meaning that there were only four people in John's year doing Astrophysics. Himself (John Noble), James Foreman, John Smith, and Jo Pryce, AKA The Four Jays or The Doctors. The ultimate nerds of the university.

This meant that rumours travelled fast. Which meant that as soon as John walked into his morning supervision, three heads turned in his direction.

The twang of John's fellow Scotsman, Jamie (Or James, he insisted on being called) floated across the small room. "So. Rose Tyler, seriously, Noble?"

"Shut your trap, Davies!" John retorted, pulling up a chair. These guys were his closest friends, but that didn't mean they weren't annoying, because they definitely were.

\---

The supervision went by quickly, and soon the four were sitting in the campus café, enjoying cups of coffee. They weren't your typical group, and the other John was definitely not the type to be sipping a pumpkin spice latte, but there you are. They had met last year, mainly due to being the only four in their year in their course, but also due to them being flatmates last year. The two Johns had bonded over their joint love of fish fingers and custard. 

His thoughts wandered back to yesterday evening, and his conversation with Rose.

"Rose, this is my younger brother John, who I think you've already met," Donna smirked at John in her typical way.

"Yeah, we've met." Rose smiled at John, who wasn't sure whether it was her being polite, or if it was something else. So he smiled back, setting the cup of squash he had somehow acquired on the table behind him.

"Yeah. Uh, Rose, would you like to go for coffee sometime?" John smiled awkwardly, brushing down his unruly hair.

"I'd like that, yeah" Rose smiled back "Let me give you my number"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> James Foreman is the 12th Doctor, John Smith is the 11th, and Jo Pryce is the 13th. Short chapter this time, and I may come up with a post schedule.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our two favourite lovebirds go on a date, finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I'd put in a bit about what Rose might've done if Jimmy hadn't been involved with her.

Wow. He'd actually got a date with Rose Tyler. He had no idea where they'd be going, but he was going on a date. Where would they go? He'd promised coffee. He couldn't just take her to the campus café. Yes!

He'd take her to Torchwood. The café that Jack and his friends worked at, the one that Ianto Jones ran. Perfect. He texted Rose.

Spaceman: Hi Rose, it's John. If you're still up for coffee, we can meet tomorrow at Torchwood Café. It's on Millennia Walk. 

Rose: Sounds great! :) What time shall we meet?

Spaceman: I was thinking about 10:30? It's Saturday, so I don't have anything on.

Rose: Cool, see you then. x

He grabbed a pair of Capri pants and checked his watch. It was only 9, and it'd take him... approximately half an hour to get to the café, which meant he had an hour to spare. He'd have to use that to actually get some work done. Great. He sighed and sat down at his desk. It was going to be a long hour.

\---

As Rose sat in the café, sipping a mug of black coffee (She was tired, okay?), she saw a beige trench coat flash past. There was only one person she knew who wore a trench coat. Actually, scratch that, there were quite a few students here who wore trench coats. Jo Pryce, Jack Harkness... The list went on. But, more importantly, John wore a trench coat. And that fact was affirmed, as a few minutes later, and out-of-breath John Noble was sitting across from her, digging into a huge slice of banana bread.

"You look like you're enjoying that" Rose grinned, as John looked up awkwardly.

"I'm hungry, okay?!?" John's face went red, as he shovelled another forkful of banana bread into his mouth.

"John, It's fine, honestly!" Rose giggled. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll have some." She dug a fork into the banana bread.

"Oy! That's mine!" John snatched the plate back, giggling as well. This was going surprisingly well, Rose thought. Jackie, her mother would have said that Rose had ideas above her station, going to Uni, and getting involved with John, who seemed pretty posh, and rich. But Jackie was back in London on the estate, and Rose was here, in Gallifrey. It'd been a good idea, not getting involved with that Jimmy Stone. He was bad news, and even Jackie knew that. Then there was Mickey Smith. He was halfway decent, but like Jackie, he was back in London, doing an apprentiship at some mechanics. John was totally different from either of them, and she quite liked that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter mainly focused on Rose. Let me know if you want River's boyfriend to be the 11th Doctor or the 12th.

To begin with, Rose couldn't believe her eyes when she got the acceptance letter to Gallifrey. She could hardly believe that she passed her A levels. Jackie, however, thought that Rose had ideas above her station when she got into the Fine Arts program at Gallifrey, where loads of alumnae graduated straight into gallery jobs or became art sellers. Jackie thought Rose should be happy with a job in the butchers, or at Henrik's. But no, Rose Tyler was moving up in the world. She was at Uni, and she would get her degree.

She had even made friends. There was Martha Jones, who she got on with, even though Martha was Mickey's new girl. There was Donna Noble, the no-nonsense secretary with a fab sense of humour, who could out-sass anyone. Then there was Jack Harkness, who despite his constant flirting, was fiercely loyal to his boyfriend, Ianto. There were the girls on her course: Amy Pond, the fiery Scottish redhead who was apparently a childhood friend of John. John Noble. Now, he was dreamy. 

An extremely attractive accent, coupled with beautiful eyes, and messy, but stylish hair, and an even more beautiful personality. Who knew that she'd be dating someone who's other love was banana bread.

Dating. That was just a guess though. She had no clue whether that was how John saw it, or whether it was just coffee with a friend. But, she was seeing it as dating, because... That's what it felt like.

She sighed. Damn. Her tea had gone cold. She picked up the mug and dumped it into the sink, checking her watch. Almost time to leave. She rushed upstairs, almost tripping over her undone laces. Grabbing her bag, Rose quickly straightened her hair, almost burning herself in the process. Luckily, as today was Sunday, she wasn't running for a lecture. She was meeting Amy, her boyfriend Rory, and Amy's sister River for brunch. 

Rose rushed back downstairs, doing up her laces in mid-hop. It had been a week since their date, and apparently, John had gone home for the weekend, so he wasn't in the flat. She grabbed her keys, slamming the door behind her. She wasn't too far from the brunch place, luckily, a small, independent café called 'Darrilium'.

**Author's Note:**

> So, the Doctor is Donna's brother, and he is also an Astrophysics student, bc that's the obvious choice. Donna works at the Uni as a secretary. Gallifrey University is based on a mix of American colleges, and Cambridge University, as well as a load of stuff from my imagination, bc this is AU and I can do what I like.


End file.
